83 . . . is the number of firework-related emergencies recorded in
Beijing as the clock ticked into Chinese New Year on Saturday night. The
injury toll was only 25.

For a fireworks culture where it is normal to loiter and chat around leviathan
explosives as the fuse burns down or to light five banks of rockets with the
same glowing cigarette end, those tallies were pathetic. New Year’s Eve
calls on the fire services in Beijing were down 45 per cent from last year
and casualties were down by nearly a third. Is China losing its sense of
fun? Possibly. But it